WSJを真面目に読む August 13-16, 2012 (番外編)

一週間、WSJに触れることができませんでした。月曜は母親の墓参。火曜日からは山籠りをしていました。もっとも近い店(コンビニです。全国で均一のサービスを提供している。素晴らしい!)まで徒歩15分。日経がやっとで英字新聞はありませんでした。 月曜から木曜までのWSJの記事で、おもに日本関係を中心に取り上げます。

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August 13, 2012

Korea-Japan ties are tense over islets (竹島関連)

Mr. Lee’s visit to the Liancourt Rocks, known as Dokdo in South Korea and Takeshima in Japan, raised the temparature on a long-simmering territorial dispute over a barely inhabitable place place of unproved economic value- but that both Korean and Japanese consider a symbol of their sovereign rights.

Liancourt Rocks: 1849年にフランス人が付けたリアンクール岩礁というのが

        中立的な呼び名だそうです。知りませんでした。

 

Japan increases national sales tax to tackle debt (消費増税関連)

Japan, burdened with the highest debt load of any developed nation, on Friday took its biggest step in years to contain the problem, approving a plan to double the national sales tax by 2015 to 10% from 5%.

 

Investors piling into corporate bonds (社債市場に資金集まる)

In July, TransCanada PipeLines sold $500 million of 10-year bonds to investors. The interest rate: just 2.5%, down sharply from the yield of more than 3% that investors demanded on the energy company’s bonds as recently as December.

 

August 14, 2012

Southeast Asia flexes deal-making muscle (力を示し始めた東南アジアの投資家)

              The multibillion-dollar tussle between Heineken NV and Thai investors for control of one of Southeast Asia’s biggest beer empires is showcasing the latest shift in Asia’s balance of power…

             Southeast Asian companies were considered the junior varsity players of Asia…

        flex one’s muscle: 力こぶを作る、力を見せつける

    tussle: 激しい戦い、取っ組み合い

              varsity: 代表チーム、 junior varsity: 二軍

              この記事の中に、ロンドンのBattersea Powerstationをマレーシアの投資家が買収という説明あり。今は使われていない発電所の印象的な写真あり、この案件を率いているのはPNBです。

 

Japan GDP points to a shaky recovery (日本第二四半期GDPは急減速)

              Japanese economic growth slowed more sharply than expected in April-June quarter as exports and consumer spending lost steam, raising the further deceleration for the rest of the year.

 

Europe banks’ capital booster (欧州銀行の自己資本増強策)

              A handful of European banks have figured out a way to boost their profit and capital ahead of new regulations: grab back their bonds.

           これは以前Citiや米銀がやった手ですね。自社発行債券を時価(簿価より大幅安)で買い戻し、差額を利益として計上する手法。債務が減り、利益が上がり、自己資本比率も向上すると言う一石二鳥。

 

August 15, 2012

How Japan lost electronics crown (日本の家電はどうして王座を陥落したか)

              Dethroned. Sony, Panasonic and Sharp are no longer the kings of electronics. After decades of profit, they combined to lose about $20 billion in the last fiscal year.

              be dethroned: 座を奪われる

 

Loophole could thwart Japan tax rise (消費増税の付帯条件について)

             The provision in the law says the government should consider the overall economic situation before implementing the increase and calls for policies to achieve annual average economic growth of about 3% in nominal terms, or about 2% in real terms…

 

Buyers beware: Goodwill games (有名米企業も高値掴みの買収に伴うのれん償却大)

              Multibillion-dollars write-offs by Microsoft Corp, Hewlett-Packard Co., and Boston Scientific Corp. for poorly performing acquisitions prompt the question: Who’s next?

 

August 16, 2012

Tensions rise in spat over islands

              Strains in Japan’s relations with neighbors were on full display Wednesday as it sought to commemorate the end of World War II: China said it would protest the detention of 14 Hong Kong activists who embarrassed Tokyo with a high-profile landing on a disputed island, and both South Korea and China issued fresh criticism of its wartime past.

              spat: 喧嘩、ささいなこと

 

Japan cuts out in smartphones

              No longer pioneers: Japan was early leader in music, games and video but has since been eclipsed by newer technologies.

              読むのが嫌になる、良くある記事。日本は最初に技術を見つけたが、国内志向、ガラパゴス化で、世界に通用せず。という内容。

            問題は日本企業の新陳代謝が進んでいない点ではないのかと思う。日本は、ソニー、パナソニック、シャープ、NEC、富士通と旧来の名前。競合は、アップル、Rovio,

Netflexと言う新参企業が多い。

 

Mobile payments go retail

              More than a dozen big retailers announced plans Wednesday to jointly develop a mobile-payments network that will battle similar services from Google Inc. and other companies.

              これってお財布携帯だよね。日本の会社はどこかでしっかり儲けているのですかね。。。

 

以上

WSJを真面目に読む August 10-12, 2012

薄商いの一週間。来週はお盆ウィーク。さらに薄い商いと思われる。少量の資金移動で価格の変動が大きくなる可能性あり。夏休み明けまで、平穏に動いてくれればいいのだが。

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【一面見出し】

Gu awaits verdict after brief trial

The trial of Gu Kallai, the wife of the disgraced Community Party official Bo Xilai, began and ended in a single day Thursday with authorities saying she didn’t contest charges that she murdered a British businessman by poisoning him when he was drunk.

              verdict: 評決 

              殺害の具体的なやり方も出てきた。すごいね。

 

China data damp hopes for rebound

              China’s factory output showed further slowing, damping hopes that Beijing’s shift to stimulus would trigger a rapid rebound in the world’s second-largest economy, and compounding fears about a flagging global recovery.

 

At Yahoo, Mayer makeover begins

              Yohoo Inc.’s rookie chief executive Marissa Mayer has made one thing clear to employees at the outset of her bid to revive the internet company: Product comes first.

              makeover: 作り直し、大変革

              at the outset: 最初に

              この女性新社長、頑張ってほしいですね。10月出産予定だと言われるが何日休むのだろうか。

 

Business & Finance

Platinum play is wager on Euro

              Some hedge funds have found a new venue to wager on a worsening outlook for Europe: the platinum market.

              wager: 賭けの対象

 

PepsiCo to re-enter Myanmar market

              PepsiCo Inc. said it reached a deal to distribute its products in Myanmar through a local partner, interest in the once-reclusive South Asian nation.

              reclusive: 閉鎖された、孤立した

 

J.P. Morgan details the extent of “whale” hit

              J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. on Thursday outlined how the ill-placed trading hedges from its London chief investment office continue to be felt in share buybacks, capital rations and trading losses.

 

以上

WSJを真面目に読む August 9, 2012

銀行時代のカナダ拠点OBの集まりに参加。みんな歳とると、こういう集まりによろこんでくるんですよね。同期会とかいろいろあるが、全部出ていると、年間かなりの数にはなる。

病気に悩む友人を持つ人へ:「勇気の祈り」を贈ります。  神よ、

変えることのできるものについて、
それを変えるだけの勇気をわれらに与えたまえ。
変えることのできないものについては、
それを受けいれるだけの冷静さを与えたまえ。
そして、
変えることのできるものと、変えることのできないものとを、
識別する知恵を与えたまえ。

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【一面見出し】

Bo Xilai’s son speaks out ahead of trial.

The Western-educated son of ousted Communist Party official Bo Xilai spoke out ahead of his mother’s murder trial, saying he had submitted a witness statement to her defense team. Chinese trial has echoes of dark past.

 

Standard Chartered backlash in U.K.

              British regulators, politicians and bankers launched a counterattack against the New York banking supervisor that has accused Standard Chartered PLC of misconduct.

 

Singaporeans urged to go all the way for civic duty. New ad campaign tells locals to help spike low birthrate.

              今日の一面記事は易しい内容ですね。

 

Business & Finance

Looking at China, seeing 3-D

“Avatar” filmmaker James Cameron is counting on demand in China to help underpin the film industry’s shift to 3-D as well as create a market for a new generation of gadgets for 3-D viewing.

 

UBS traders offered deal by U.S. in rate probe

              U.S. prosecutors have agreed to shield several former UBS AG employees from criminal charges in return for their cooperation with the escalating investigation of suspected interest-rate manipulation, according to a person close to the probe.

              probe: 捜査、査察

 

Wanxiang bails out U.S. backed battery firm

              A123 Systems Inc., a struggling U.S. government-backed manufacture of advanced batteries for electric vehicles, is turning to one of China’s larger auto-parts makers for a bailout.

        米国はこんなことを許して良いんですかね?

 

以上

WSJを真面目に読む August 8, 2012

大学卒業以来ほとんど会う機会がなかった友人3名で集う。有朋自遠方来不亦楽乎 少し話をすれば一度に37年の時間差がうまる。人生いろいろ、なれど、友人は大切。

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【一面見出し】

Chinese trial has echoes of dark past.

              When Gu Kailai-the wife of a disgraced Chinese politician-walks into a courtroom here on Thursday, it will recall the trial of another once-powerful woman, more than a quarter-century ago-and a watershed moment in China’s modern history.

              食傷気味の記事。江青を持ってくるところがすごい。

 

U.K. bank reputations take hit.

              Is something rotten in the City of London?

              サブプライムを比較的無傷で乗り越えた、Barclays, HSBC, Standard Charteredのいずれもがスキャンダルまみれになっていると言う記事。

 

Monti talks tough to save Euro.

              During an all-night European summit in June, Mario Monti, the Italian prime minister, gave German Chancellor Angela Merkel an unexpected ultimatum.

              イタリアは、モンティ首相はしのげるだろうか?

 

Business & Finance

Dream works heads to Shanghai.

              DreamWorks Animation SFG Inc., looking to boost its presence in a fast- growing market, signed deals with Chinese partners to build a $350 million movie studio in Shanghai and help design an entertainment complex meant to capitalize on the success in China of its “Kung Fu Panda” film franchise.

 

In China’s power Nexus, a redemption tale.

              Liu Minghui’s battle to clear his name and save his business, a fight that pitted him against some of the most powerful forces in China, began the day of his company’s Christmas party in 2010.

 

Allegations may tarnish U.S. bank’s clean image.

              Last week, Standard Chartered PLC, Chief Executive Peter Sands told analysts that “our culture and values are our first and last line of defense.

             このようなウソをCEOに言わせる組織は何であろうか?

以上

WSJを真面目に読む August 7, 2012

今、海外投資信託の契約書を読んでいる。会計処理と開示に関しても勉強中。あまり本もない。ある程度のレベルまで到達するのは簡単そうだが、細部を理解するのは難しそう。神は細部に宿ると言われる。慎重に学びたい。

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【一面見出し】

Sunni’s exit indicates Syria divide

Syria’s government lost its highest –ranking Sunni member, Prime Minister Riad Hijab, in what his spokesman called a defection to the opposition as the rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad inflames sectarian emotion in the Middle East. 

Sunni: スンニー派 cf  Shiah or Shi シーア派

アサド家はスンニー派の中の少数派のアラウィー派に属す。多数は出身の首相が亡命したということになる。シリアは最終的にはどうなるのだろうか。アメリカの本気度とシリアとイランの関係とかいろいろな要素がある。最終的には政権が崩壊する道をたどるとみる。

 

Standard Chartered at risk in U.S.

New York’s top financial regulator accused a Standard Chartered PLC unit of running a “rogue institution” that “schemed” with Iran’s government to hide more than $250 billion in illegal transactions for nearly a decade.

米国の不動産会社に勤務しはじめたとき、そこのパートナーからschemeというのはずるい、人をだますやり方のことだから、schemeとは決して言うなと言われたことを思いだす。何と言えばよいか?structureです!

 

Friction as China’s clout expands in Japan

              In a notable role reversal, China is emerging as a major investor in Japan- a diminished status for the island-nation that is inflaming old animosities between two wary neighbors.

             clout: 勢力、強い影響力

              animosity: 敵意、敵対意識

              wary: すきのない、油断のならない

新潟の中国領事館用地の話。中国では土地は私有できないから日本大使館は借地、中国は日本で大使館・領事館用地を取得できる。これは不平等だよね。

 

Business & Finance

Knight receives $400 million lifeline.

              Knight Capital Group Inc. confirmed it has agreed to a $400 million rescue plan that would address huge losses caused by errant trading last week.

              errant: 正道から外れた、逸脱した

In China, local brands take on imports

              Gone are the days when big multinationals in China could easily dominate every consumer segment from toothpaste to laundry detergent.

              Take on: 争う、挑戦する

       歯磨きの例があがっているが、P&GのCrestという有名なブランドの約2倍の値段の中国製の歯磨きがシェアを伸ばしているという。

 

以上